AMID the rising number of COVID-19 cases, the Department of Health yesterday reminded hospitals that asymptomatic and mild COVID-19 patients should not be admitted to avoid congestion and make room for severe and critical cases.

Health Undersecretary Maria Rosario Vergeire said asymptomatic and mild cases should instead be accommodated in Level 1 health care facilities or temporary treatment and monitoring facilities.

“Ang ginagawa nating paghahanda talaga is to expand more beds para po tayo ay magkaroon ng pag-accommodate sa mga pasyenteng nangangailangan. We need to be able to navigate patients. ‘Yun po ang kritikal sa atin ngayon. Nakikita pa rin natin ‘yung ating mga ospital na nag-a-admit pa rin ng asymptomatic at saka mild patient,” she said.

During the spike in cases in March this year, the DOH noted that nearly 50% of hospital admissions at the time were asymptomatic or mild cases.

Meanwhile, Vergeire said the DOH has coordinated with the National Kidney and Transplant Institute, which earlier hit full capacity due to an increase in COVID-19 and leptospirosis cases.

“Atin pong naiayos na ‘yung network natin. So ‘yun pong mga pasyente na hindi na po ma-a-accommodate ng NKTI ay ngayon po ay nire-refer na sa mga ospital natin dito sa Metro Manila,” she said.

Vergeire added that the DOH has ordered regional offices to establish our network of hospitals after suspected COVID-19 patients were seen lying in cars, tents, and corridors at the Cagayan Valley hospital.

The Philippines is battling a fresh uptick in infections following the detection of local cases of the highly contagious Delta coronavirus variant.

In a related development, Vergeire said the enhanced community quarantine currently in effect in the National Capital Region may be extended due to the increasing number of COVID-19 cases. However, this will still be discussed by the Inter-Agency Task Force for the Management of Emerging Infectious Diseases (IATF).

“Nandiyan lagi ‘yung posibilidad because based on our projections, kahit magkaroon tayo ng dalawang linggong ECQ, patuloy pong tataas ang mga kaso natin. Ang atin po lang objective for this ECQ is for us to prepare the system para mas ma-manage natin itong ganitong klaseng sitwasyon. As to the extension of ECQ, of course, ito po ay pag-uusapan sa IATF,” she said.

Metro Manila was placed under ECQ from August 6 to 20 in light of the threat posed by the Delta coronavirus variant.

Vergeire on Monday said there were 146 local cases of the Delta variant in Metro Manila.

She also said the country is already seeing the impact of the highly contagious Delta coronavirus variant with the continued surge in new COVID-19 cases.

The DOH official also said that even with ECQ, active cases in Metro Manila may still reach around 18,000 by the end of September.